WAP – WARNING! Air Pockets

The Mechanism. WAP is a paper automaton whose main mechanism is Redtenbacher`s variation of the Cartwright straight-line mechanism, a twin gear driving a common slider crank. If the two gears have different but almost equal number of teeth, the up and down motion of the bar is then an addition and subtraction of two sinusoidal functions. The straight line generation, determined by the vertical motion of the bar, was a very important problem in the early history of mechanics. In WAP, the “random” motion of the unlucky airplane is generated at the center of the beam, that is free to spin. At that point, the two sinusoidal movements originate the oscillation that, together with the up and down motion of the bar, results in the air-pocket-like shaking up.

The main mechanism in WAP is based on two gears with ratio equal to 1.2 (18/15 teeth). The entire cycle is completed after five turns of the handle.

Ferdinand Redtenbacher (1809-1863).The transformation of mechanical technology from a mainly workshop-based profession into an engineering science, particularly in the area of design of machines and mechanisms, is closely related with the name of Ferdinand Redtenbacher. He was of eminent historical importance for the evolution of mechanical engineering to a technical science in the nineteenth century. Redtenbacher’s role as the originator of mechanical engineering as a science in Germany is fundamental and of general interest since the introduction of science into engineering is a “sine qua none” for the development of a powerful high tech industry. As a professor and the director of the Polytechnic School in Karlsruhe, Germany – today the University of Karlsruhe (TH) –, Redtenbacher’s influence therefore helped establish the German manufacturing systems engineering even today. (from Wauer, J., Mauersberger, K., Moon, F. C., 2010. Ferdinand Jakob Redtenbacher (1809–1863), in Distinguished Figures in Mechanism and Machine Science, History of Mechanism and Machine Science, Ceccarelli, M. Ed., Springer Netherlands).

A fantastic model and realistic video. I’m looking forward to the build. Very interesting is the inclusion of the variation of the Cartwright mechnism. Thank you Pino for the elaborately designed model with free download.
Michael

Thank you Nghia Zer for your appreciation!
Yes, of course, you can translate and repack the project. Please, when ready, send it to me the pdf file (it will be the first time I see one of my model in Vietnamese version… 😉

Hi Mr. Paperpino.
I’ve only just started in the world of papercaft and have been fascinated with his designs, is a real inspiration to me.
Maybe one day not too distant to make my own model
Thanks for sharing your talents.
Grettins from Mexico city

I built the WAP and it was very enjoyable. Your part fit is perfect which makes the building fun and the result satisfying. The way you have designed each part is quite amazing. The assemblies that I thought might go together with some dificulty are easy because of the methods you used in creating them. It is a fantastic piece. Thank you.

A4 sized paper is kind of hard to find over here in the U.S.. Will I run into gears not meshing correctly if I scale down to 8.5 x 11″ I’ve done a couple of your other projects but none of them had gears like this. I suppose I could just give it a go, but ink is expensive.

Your thoughts would be appreciated
P.s. I think it scales down just under 95% if I remember correctly

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about me…

Hello!

My name is Giuseppe Civitarese (aka Pino), from Trieste, Italy. I am an oceanographer, and in my second life I am a card models builder and designer. My passion for paper modelling began in 2000, when I decided to build a paper castle for my little nephew Matteo. Later, Matteo never built any paper model. On the other hand, since then I've never abandoned this hobby. My specific interest is in designing paper automata, and terrestrial and celestial globes from digital replicas of antique maps.